2011-12 Online Catalogue

CAS Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts

Students must comply with the degree requirements as stated in one edition of the Catalogue in place during the time they are enrolled. However, since the curriculum is viewed as a coherent whole, selected parts from different catalogues may not be counted. Students who do not complete the degree within seven years must comply with the requirements in the catalogue current at the date of readmission. Disputed rulings may be appealed to the Committee on Academic Standing.

A student must earn a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 in a program comprised of a minimum of 120 semester credits. Students receiving degrees from the College of Arts and Sciences may apply no more than eight credits of Physical Education toward the 120 required for graduation.

Of the 120 credits required, students electing a minor offered by the College must complete 96 credits in courses offered by departments and programs in the College of Arts and Sciences. The remaining 24 credits may be taken in courses offered by any academic unit at The University of Vermont. Students electing an approved minor offered by another school or college of the University must complete 84 credits in courses offered by the departments and programs in the College of Arts and Sciences. The remaining 36 credits, to include courses required for the minor, may be taken in courses offered by any academic unit of The University of Vermont.

No more than eight credits of Military Studies may apply toward the degree. Courses taken on a pass/no pass basis may not be used toward completion of any requirement listed below under sections C and D and E.

A student must be matriculated in the College of Arts and Sciences and in residence at The University of Vermont during the period in which he or she earns 30 of the last 45 credits of academic credit applied toward the degree.

College of Arts and Sciences Guidelines for a Second Bachelor's Degree

The Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science in the College of Arts and Sciences are not tagged degrees. As a consequence, someone who has completed either a BA or a BS in Arts and Sciences will not receive a second degree should s/he complete an additional major within the same degree.

If a BA or BS graduate of Arts and Sciences is readmitted and/or completes an additional major beyond the one used towards the original diploma, the additional major and course work will be added to the transcript. A second degree will only be awarded when the additional coursework completed satisfies the requirements for a different degree with a different major from the one initially awarded [i.e., BA graduate with major in Physics completes requirements for BS with major in Chemistry].

Students who do not complete the degree within seven years must comply with the requirements in the catalogue current at the time of readmission. Students readmitted to complete a second degree, or to complete an additional major within the same degree must also comply with this rule.

A student must complete the following courses which comprise the general and distributive requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree. All courses used to satisfy these requirements must carry at least three credits and may not be taken on a pass/no pass basis. Each semester Special Topics and cross-listed courses (95, 96, 195, 196, 295, 296) are offered which may meet general and distributive requirements. Check in the Dean's office if you have a question about a specific course.

General Requirements

Non-European Cultures: One course, other than a foreign language, which deals with non-European cultural traditions.
The course selected to satisfy this requirement may also be used to fulfill the distributive requirement.1

Distribution Requirements

Students completing the B.A. degree will be required to complete all seven of the Distribution Requirement categories (Foreign Language, Mathematical Sciences, Fine Arts, Literature, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences.) No more than two courses from the same department may be used to satisfy the distribution requirement. No single course may satisfy more than one category, except that a foreign language course which fulfills the literature category simultaneously fulfills the category of foreign language. Courses which satisfy major and minor requirements may also be used to satisfy distribution requirements.

Foreign Language: Two courses in the same foreign language * at the appropriate level, as determined by the offering department.
**A student who has achieved a score of 4 or better on an appropriate Advanced Placement (AP) Test, and receives AP credit for two semesters of language, has satisfied this requirement.2

** Students with previous high school coursework in French, German, or Spanish must take an online placement exam in order to register for courses used to satisfy this requirement in one of these languages. See department websites for access to online placement exams.

Social Sciences: Two courses selected from a list of approved offerings in Anthropology, Communication Sciences, Economics, Geography, Global and Regional Studies, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Vermont Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies.7

Natural Sciences: Two courses, one of which must include laboratory experience, chosen from GEOG 040, GEOG 140, GEOG 143, MMG 065, and all offerings in Astronomy, Biology (including BCOR), Plant Biology, Chemistry, Geology, and Physics.

A student must complete an approved Major in the College of Arts and Sciences by satisfying the requirements specified by the department or program supervising the major and by maintaining a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 in the major field. Unless specifically required, no more than 45 credits in courses with the same departmental prefix may be used toward completion of the 120 credits required for graduation. At least one-half of the credits used toward the major requirements must be taken at The University of Vermont. Of these, at least twelve credits must be at or above the 100-level. Application of credits earned elsewhere to completion of the major is subject to approval by the appropriate department chairperson or program director. No courses applied toward satisfaction of major requirements may be taken on a pass/no pass basis.

A student must complete a minor approved by the College of Arts and Sciences in a field other than the major by satisfying the requirements specified by the department or program supervising the minor. 8 Also, a student must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 in the minor field.9 Completion of a second major, either as part of the student’s B.A. degree program or as part of another degree program at UVM, will satisfy the minor requirement as long as there is no more than one common course used to satisfy the requirements for both majors. As with the major, at least one-half of the credits used toward completion of the minor requirements must be taken at The University of Vermont, and application of credits earned elsewhere toward completion of the minor is subject to approval by the appropriate department chairperson or program director. No courses applied toward satisfaction of the minor requirements may be taken on a pass/no pass basis.

Only one course may be applied toward completion of both a major and a minor requirement.

The minor grade-point average will be calculated from the first set of courses which satisfy the minor requirements.
However, if a student's grade-point average in these courses falls below 2.0, and there are additional courses which are approved
for inclusion in the minor, a student may elect to drop for purposes of the grade-point average calculation, one course graded below C
and to replace this course with an approved alternate.